(61c) Teaching Chemical Engineering within a General Engineering Program at a Liberal Arts College

Hope College is a small liberal arts college of approximately 3,000 students with nationally recognized programs in the sciences. Over two decades, the physics department progressed from offering a few engineering courses to the development of an ABET-accredited general engineering program.

Recently the renamed physics and engineering department began offering coursework in chemical engineering. The department currently offers emphasis options consisting of a set of elective courses in chemical and biochemical engineering, as well as emphasis options in mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering. This presentation details the development and structure of the chemical/biochemical engineering options.

A major strength of the program is its natural implementation of multidisciplinary engineering experiences in projects and coursework for students. Some of these ideas may be adaptable to traditional chemical engineering departments in their efforts to promote multidisciplinary experiences. Challenges include limited faculty and laboratory resources, lack of visibility for a small new program, and the constant quest to fit the ?square peg? of chemical engineering into the ?round hole? of general engineering.